


A Model's Shadow

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Modeling, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27986979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: Juleka's dream is to be a model, and there is one person in her class that can give her a hand... and maybe she has a little insight that can help him out in return.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Juleka Couffaine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant
Comments: 26
Kudos: 230





	A Model's Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic way back in August of 2019 for the Adrien Agreste Zine "Silver Linings". Now that the zine has been published and the left over sale has started, I'm pleased to finally be able to share this fic with all of you!

Adrien walked up the steps of the school with a smile on his face. Not because he was particularly looking forward to learning today, but because this was the first day back to school after he and Ladybug had accidentally revealed their identities to each other. 

It hadn’t been anything too exciting that finally did their secrecy in. They both simply happened to duck into the same alleyway as their miraculous gave their last shrill beeps. A few silent moments had passed between them before Marinette shrieked and sprinted away before Adrien could squeeze a word out.

But that was okay! It was a lot to take in and Marinette could be a little… jumpy under pressure. He gave her plenty of space. No matter how often he had wanted to run over to her house as Chat Noir that weekend. But now it was Monday and seeing each other was practically unavoidable. 

His ears perked up when he caught her voice, although he couldn’t make out the words. He closed his locker quietly and crept towards the sound. That was definitely her voice, but he couldn’t hear the other speaker. Maybe it was her kwami?

Then they rounded the corner. Bumping into her didn’t bother him at all, that had happened plenty of times before. But her reaction was to spring backwards as if his chest had burned her? It stung to see. She lost her footing and almost went tumbling onto the floor before Adrien caught her by the wrist. 

He helped her regain her footing, his hand lingering on hers as he asked, “Are you alright, Mari?”

Her face turned bright red and she pulled away. While she retreated, she pulled the person she had been speaking with around the corner and brandished her in front of herself. She blurted out, “Juleka wants modeling help!” 

And then she was gone. 

Adrien blinked and turned to face Juleka. No wonder he hadn’t heard her - he wasn’t sure if he had ever heard Juleka raise her voice to be much louder than a whisper. Juleka glanced up at him, blinking in confusion at what just happened. She gave a nervous smile and tiny wave before looking away again. 

“So…” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck, “...you want to be a model?”

—————

Towards the end of the week, Adrien found himself at a photoshoot for the spring line. More precisely, he found himself waiting in the dressing room while they were working through the other models and getting his set assembled. 

At least this time he had company.

Adrien squirmed in his seat. He felt like a bad host for letting the silence stretch between them. Especially since she’d be hovering at the sidelines anyway while he was in front of the camera. 

“So… Modeling, huh?”

Juleka blinked in surprise before giving a weak smile. “I know, it’s not what most people expect, from, um… someone like me.”

“It’s not that I don’t think you _can_ do it,” Adrien rushed to add. “I just didn’t think you wanted to be in the spotlight is all.”

“You’re not wrong.” She laughed nervously. “I guess… I guess it’s about proving that I could if I set my mind to it, you know?”

“I can get that and I’ll do my best to help, but…” Adrien frowned. “Are you sure you want to do something that stresses you out this much, just to prove a point?”

“You sound like Rose.” Her smile was bright and genuine. “She worries a lot about me, but even when she thinks I’m making a mistake she has my back.”

His thoughts went back to Marinette. Even when she couldn’t form words around him, he knew she was incredibly loyal to her friends and was always willing to go the extra mile for them. He was brought back to the present by Juleka waving her hand in front of his face.

“Hey. You zoned out for a second. Thinking about someone in particular?” There was a glint of amusement in the one eye he could see, as if she already knew.

“Am I that obvious?” He sighed.

“Just a little. The whole ‘watching her like a love sick kitten’ thing really gave it away.” 

“Well, she’s just so…” He trailed off, gesturing wildly with his hand as he struggled to come up with the right words. “Small. And cute. And pink?” He buried his face in his hands as Juleka laughed. 

“Trust me, I totally understand. That’s a spot on description of my girlfriend, after all. What else do you like about her?”

“Her kindness. Her creativity. The way her nose scrunches when she concentrates.” He peeked out from between his fingers. “Feel free to stop me at any time. I could go on all day.”

“Don’t worry. It’s cute.” She drummed nervously on her legs as she glanced at the door to the room, as if expecting the photographer to burst in at any moment. She asked distractedly, “Are you going to ask her out?”

Poor Adrien had been taking a sip of water at just the wrong moment and Juleka had to wait until his coughing fit subsided before he could answer. “Well, I- not that I don’t _want_ to but- I’m not sure she really…”

She tilted her head at him. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“Um… let’s just say Marinette won’t turn you down if you ask for a date.”

“What do you-”

Juleka’s phone went off and she pulled it out quickly. “Oh! An update from the Ladyblog. So… the heroes of Paris - pretty cool, huh?”

Adrien was aware she was changing the topic, but considering it was ultimately still about the same person, he let it slide. “Yeah, very cool. Especially that Ladybug. She’d give Marinette a run for her money.”

“See, I always liked Chat Noir better.”

 _That_ caught Adrien’s attention. “Really?”

“Mhm. He’s… actually kind of a role model to me. Have you ever met him? In person?”

“I- No, I don’t think I have.” He smirked. “Is it because you two have a similar taste in colors?”

She glanced down at her mostly-black outfit and smirked. “I appreciate that he’s a cat of fine taste too, but no. He’s a sweet guy, friendly, outgoing… but he’s fine taking a backseat and letting Ladybug take the spotlight.”

“It sounds like you really admire him.” Adrien was proud of how level he was keeping his voice. It would be hard to explain if he started crying now. 

“Oh, definitely. Especially his confidence. Whenever I’m scared about putting myself out there, I try my best to be like him.”

Adrien chuckled. “You’ve just summed up the big piece of advice I was going to give you.” At her confused look, he added, “Fake confidence looks exactly like the real deal if you believe.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Everyone is afraid, but you do it anyway.”

For the next few minutes, he did his best to pass along as many tips that he could. The ones that he would have loved to have gotten when _he_ was starting out. Soon enough they were chatting like old friends. By the time an intern came to get him, Juleka was looking more sure of herself and as ready as she was ever going to be. 

——————

“A-adrien, if you could just move a little over… Perfect!” Marinette took another few pictures and checked her phone to look them over.

Adrien relaxed from his pose and walked around to look over Marinette’s shoulder, a spot already crowded by the rest of the girls. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Juleka wearing a similar outfit to his own, hanging back uncertainly. He gave her a reassuring smile and motioned her over.

“Wow, you guys did great!” Mylene beamed at the pictures as Marinette sorted through them. “I bet it’ll be hard to narrow them down to just a few for the website.”

“I’m so proud of you, Jules!” Rose threw her arms around Juleka, humming excitedly.

Alya pulled Marinette into a one armed hug. “Your designs look great, girl! How about we all go celebrate with some ice cream?” She glanced over at him.

“Sure! I’m not supposed to be home for another half hour anyway.” 

While the others funneled downstairs, chatting excitedly among themselves, Adrien noticed that Marinette was hanging behind to put away the props and accessories they had used. 

It was just the two of them in the room. Adrien took a deep breath and stood beside her, his mind racing with all the first date ideas he’d thought up during all the time they’d known each other. He called on all the fake confidence he could find.

“Hey, bugaboo… Got a moment to _Chat_?”


End file.
